Description: This week it’s all about steelhead—or at least mostly about steelhead. Besides the main topic, dead drift vs. the swing for steelhead, we talk about overlining rods, matching a rod to a fish size, dressing dry flies, the NOAA Saltwater Registry, hooking fish in the tongue, fishing beads, and whether to ask a guide for a refund if you don’t catch any fish (I think you know my answer to that one).

Description: On this week’s podcast, we discuss man-eating Chinook salmon, the ethics of going back to a spot a guide has taken you to, what BWOs are, possible cranefly hatches, stomach pumps, and I make an apology to the SUP crowd. Then we have a great interview with Whit Fosburgh, president and CEO of the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership. Whit brings to light some boring-sounding legislation that is important to anyone who loves the outdoors, and gives us a good general overview of why they are important—like thousands of acres of public land that is inaccessible to taxpayers and what is being done about it.

Description: This week we’ll discuss 12 tips for fishing tiny dry flies, a topic of great interest this time of year. In the Fly Box we range from a good general Salt water outfit to clinch knots to night fishing with two flies to how much line to have out when you are waiting to make a cast to a visible fish. Based on suggestions from many podcast listeners, I’m starting a section about equipment and also a section on fly-fishing myths. We had tons of good feedback and suggestions on podcasts, and it was loud and clear that listeners don’t want a co-host but they do like interviews.

Description: I have an interview with Doc Thompson, legendary New Mexico fly-fishing guide and an all-around great guy. Doc will share tips for finding and catching high-altitude trout in small streams. In the Fly Box, we range from foul-hooking fish to tying small flies to hooking and holding trout on tiny flies to guide etiquette to casting big streamers. And we’ve started a new feature where we talk about a couple of the red-hot fishing spots for this week.

This week we explore the topic of whether you should fish upstream or down, not only what direction you should move but also which way you present your fly. The podcast will tell you exactly which direction to fish every time you go out by using a simple formula (just kidding—did you really think it would be that easy?)

In the fly box we answer questions about setting the hook (again), what length rod to use (again), adding tippets to knotless leaders (again), what to do about minnows sinking your dry flies (aha! A new one and a fun one, too), and how to improve your roll cast by using a different line. I keep answering those repeated topics because it seems they are universal questions and sometimes a different question or slant on a question may make it more clear to listeners. Have fun!

Description: This week, based on my experience of getting skunked trout fishing, I thought I would give you 10 reasons for getting skunked. I mainly concentrate on early season fishing—but these excuses are also good any time during the season!
In the Fly Box section we talk about :
-over-lining fly rods,
-barbless hooks,
-laying fish on the grass to photograph them,
-matching leader with rod length,
-rod and blank weights,
-and some other fun stuff.
Questions this week came from as far away as Australia and the UK, and as close as Connecticut.

Description: This week I interview Jamie Rouse, two-time Orvis Endorsed Guide award winner for superior service (as rated by our customers, not by us). Jamie gives us a very full lesson on fishing for tailwater trout during the winter, particularly on his home stream, the Little Red River in Arkansas. Jamie targets huge brown trout on the fly all winter long-and usually catches them-so it's worth a listen to pick up some valuable tips. I know I learned a lot in this podcast and I'm ready to get out on the water, even if the line does freeze in my guides.

Description: This week I interview our rod and reel designer, Shawn Combs, whose nickname around the office is Didymo (you have to listen to the podcast to find out why). Shawn is a streamer fanatic, and the best at streamer fishing for trout of anyone on our staff, so I asked him to tell all his secrets of fishing for late fall and winter trout with streamers. It’s an educational podcast for sure, but it’s also a fun one.

Description: Unless you live in one of the rare parts opf North America that isn't in drought conditions this summer, or you've been lucky enough to be fishing tailwater waters with an abundance of cool water, you're probably faced with very tricky conditions. Trout fishing is not impossible this time of year, but you have to adjust your tactics to lower flows, clear water and paranoid trout. We have LOTS of questions in the fly box this week which makes for a pretty long show.

Description: In the fly box this week, we talk about where fly tying materials come from, getting wet flies to swing deeper, fishing logs, and fishing small flies under water. In the main topic, we discuss different kinds of trout and how to fish for them--hatchery vs. wild, and pressured trout streams vs. remote trout streams. We've had some great suggestions for podcast topics lately so keep them coming

Description: Being early in trout season, Tom wanted to give a few pointers on early season trout fishing... then thought of a few more... then a few more. His list eventually reached 15 tips and as if that were not enough, he added two more suggestions at the end of this podcast. Did he miss any?

Description: This week I discuss a dozen tips for taking difficult risers. We're not always fortunate to find consistently rising fish, but when we do it's a chess match that can be the most fascinating aspect of trout fishing. There are many tips to finally fooling a difficult riser, and surprisingly few of them involve choosing the correct fly. We also have Fly Box short items on some questions that came up from listeners regarding last week's podcast on small stream fishing. And by popular demand, we'll continue our sections on great fly-fishing books and cool products you might have missed.

Description: This week we have a couple of interesting fly box items--one on reeling right or left hand, and the other on how to dress for fly fishing. The main podcast is about evaluating a new trout stream to figure out how fast to move, what fly to use, and how rich the stream is. I also include a shameless plug for my new book Small Stream Trout Fishing.

Description: In this week's podcast I announce the winner of the Podcast Suggestion Contest, who won a signed copy of my latest book Essential American Flies. The topic is sure to be a crowd-pleaser to most of you--targeting bigger trout. In the podcast I give you 10 suggestions for targeting the biggest trout in a pool or in a stretch of river.
There were lots of great suggestions in the podcast contest, and I used a couple for the short Fly Box section at the beginning of the podcast: How to cure the fall blues after a tough fishing season, and how to pack for a business trip where you might grab a few hours fishing. Plus a terrific tip on rigging dry droppers on our podcast request line from a listener in Georgia.

Description: What does a splashing rise tell you about how a fish is feeding vs a sipping rise? Do you cast right away to a rising trout? If not, then when? In the most recent episode of The Orvis Fly Fishing Guide Podcast with Tom Rosenbauer, Tom tells you how to read the rise to better gauge and predict a trout's behavior.